A question : how many of you believe that the brain is the computer in the human body?
There was a TPP competition in our college as a part of an intra-college fest. One of the entries was on DNA computing (which eventually won the first place). One of the team members, during the presentation, made a statement which went something like "... the DNA molecules in the human body are nothing but computers ...".
The guy sitting next to me got pissed at this. According to him, we statements like "the brain is the human computer" are utter nonsense. The computer is an attempted imitation of the human brain. And a very poor one at that.
Hmm. Will make me think the next time I am comparing the two.
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February 24, 2005
February 13, 2005
Rappelling @ ZEAL 2005
Spiderman, Spiderman,
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size,
Catches thieves just like flies
Look Out!
Here comes the Spiderman.
Is he strong?
Listen bud,
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread
Take a look overhead
Hey, there
There goes the Spiderman.
In the chill of night
At the scene of a crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time.
Spiderman, Spiderman
Friendly neighborhood Spiderman
Wealth and fame
He's ingnored
Action is his reward.
To him, life is a great big bang up
Whenever there's a hang up
You'll find the Spider man.
See for yourself ! [ http://sandesh247.freestarthost.com/gallery/rappelling/ ]
February 12, 2005
The beach
Picture this - someone important in a college expires, a holiday is declared, and the students, instead of mourning, decide to make a day of it by going on the beach! Then something goes wrong at the beach - a day that started wonderfully for the students doesn't end as well as expected.
Sounds like fiction? Well, it isn't. This is exactly what happened with our class today. I wont go into the details, but please, if you do go to the beach in a group, be careful. A lot of mischief happens, most of it is not intended to harm anyone, but all you need is one wrong move and someone could get hurt.
It was good however that none of us lost our cool, and got the person hospitalized nearby. Most of us had no previous experience with emergencies, and thankfully, we did not do anything that put the victim into more trouble (although we did come to know later that one of the guys was performing a medical procedure the wrong way).
However, all is well that ends well. The person is now doing just fine. In fact, it turned out to be nothing serious. But maybe we were lucky. Don't let the same happen to any of you.
Sounds like fiction? Well, it isn't. This is exactly what happened with our class today. I wont go into the details, but please, if you do go to the beach in a group, be careful. A lot of mischief happens, most of it is not intended to harm anyone, but all you need is one wrong move and someone could get hurt.
It was good however that none of us lost our cool, and got the person hospitalized nearby. Most of us had no previous experience with emergencies, and thankfully, we did not do anything that put the victim into more trouble (although we did come to know later that one of the guys was performing a medical procedure the wrong way).
However, all is well that ends well. The person is now doing just fine. In fact, it turned out to be nothing serious. But maybe we were lucky. Don't let the same happen to any of you.
February 06, 2005
Adios ... ZEAL
Phew !! Just finished with the intra-college fest of ours, ZEAL 2005. Didn't take up much responsibilities this time, therefore I wasn't really that busy, like some of my friends. I have really begun to hate the politics at such fests - this time, too, there was a major argument among the event heads, with some of them threatening to resign. I still don't know whether matters have been settled yet.
Anyway, ZEAL has gone now, with me having burst balloons, threaded needles, scaled down a building, danced, sung ... etc. I also won the 2nd place in the mock interview. I had a lot of fun, and it's really disappointing to have to go to college now to sit in the classrooms.
BTW, my results came out a few days back. I passed with 60%.
Anyway, ZEAL has gone now, with me having burst balloons, threaded needles, scaled down a building, danced, sung ... etc. I also won the 2nd place in the mock interview. I had a lot of fun, and it's really disappointing to have to go to college now to sit in the classrooms.
BTW, my results came out a few days back. I passed with 60%.
January 26, 2005
Eminem fan club
Guess what? In an interview to the Times of India, Sania Mirza revealed that Eminem happens to be one of her favorite singers!
Guess I have elite company ...
Guess I have elite company ...
Fighting a reputation - III (was I mistaken?)
I am allowed to make mistakes, right?
Well, there was this other friend of mine who went to the U.S. for vacation. His way of explaining his experiences revealed why my other friend felt the way she did.
This friend, Ankith, told me that people in the U.S. are inherently more friendly (read: social). It isn't uncommon for complete strangers to come up to you and say 'hi' and ask about the weather. In fact, he said that during early days of his visit, he used to be surprised at the way Americans talked to him, it was as if they knew him as a friend.
So, Indians don't behave strangely in the U.S. . It's just that Americans are more social. I remember reading in a business magazine once that with growth in urbanisation, social inhibitions decrease. That is fairly obvious. What my earlier friend probably experienced was just a culture shock.
Well, there was this other friend of mine who went to the U.S. for vacation. His way of explaining his experiences revealed why my other friend felt the way she did.
This friend, Ankith, told me that people in the U.S. are inherently more friendly (read: social). It isn't uncommon for complete strangers to come up to you and say 'hi' and ask about the weather. In fact, he said that during early days of his visit, he used to be surprised at the way Americans talked to him, it was as if they knew him as a friend.
So, Indians don't behave strangely in the U.S. . It's just that Americans are more social. I remember reading in a business magazine once that with growth in urbanisation, social inhibitions decrease. That is fairly obvious. What my earlier friend probably experienced was just a culture shock.
January 23, 2005
Fighting a reputation - II
A friend of mine just returned from a holiday in America. It had always been, rather, it IS her dream to land up in America at a point later in her life. Naturally, I was really curious as to what lessons did this small trip give her.
As expected, she enjoyed the trip a lot. In short, it probably was a perfect holiday for her. There was at least one thing that disturbed her though. She happened to notice that Indians (not red ;) living in the US were not quite as receptive to Indians as one would expect. Americans, on the other hand, extended much warmer feelings.
I wasn't really surprised at this though. Post 9-11, many "outsiders" in the U.S. have been eyed with suspicion. America obviously doesn't want a repeat of 9-11, what with their political/military excesses in other parts of the world. And those "outsiders", I guess, have been try as hard, if not harder, trying to "fit in". It's like being a teenager - the more you try to be someone, the more you ignore things that hold you back from being that "someone". We try to be not seen with certain kind of people, and try to hang out with others. And Indians in the U.S. are probably going through something similar.
What further reinforces this point is Pascal's trip abroad. Pascal has been abroad quite a few times, and many of those trips have been while he was in school (pre 9-11). Although he has never been to the US, he tells me that Indians abroad were quite pleasant and friendly. In fact, he had lived with an Indian family in Europe for some time.
California callin', twenty miles to go ...
And I don't, I don't know,
Should I turn around or should I leave you alone ?
I don't, I don't know ...
As expected, she enjoyed the trip a lot. In short, it probably was a perfect holiday for her. There was at least one thing that disturbed her though. She happened to notice that Indians (not red ;) living in the US were not quite as receptive to Indians as one would expect. Americans, on the other hand, extended much warmer feelings.
I wasn't really surprised at this though. Post 9-11, many "outsiders" in the U.S. have been eyed with suspicion. America obviously doesn't want a repeat of 9-11, what with their political/military excesses in other parts of the world. And those "outsiders", I guess, have been try as hard, if not harder, trying to "fit in". It's like being a teenager - the more you try to be someone, the more you ignore things that hold you back from being that "someone". We try to be not seen with certain kind of people, and try to hang out with others. And Indians in the U.S. are probably going through something similar.
What further reinforces this point is Pascal's trip abroad. Pascal has been abroad quite a few times, and many of those trips have been while he was in school (pre 9-11). Although he has never been to the US, he tells me that Indians abroad were quite pleasant and friendly. In fact, he had lived with an Indian family in Europe for some time.
California callin', twenty miles to go ...
And I don't, I don't know,
Should I turn around or should I leave you alone ?
I don't, I don't know ...
Fighting a reputation
It's hard to fight your reputation.
It's good to have a reputation of a "good" student, isn't it? I know it has helped me many times. Teachers are usually very helpful to me, my term work marks reflect that too. I am certainly not among the top rankers in our class, in fact, I really lag behind. Thankfully, I am at good terms with my teachers.
But the college sports taught me that this may not always be good. I was never really "into" sports, only this month was I taking cricket seriously (with me having lost around 10 kgs in the last few months, sports suddenly is now pleasure). As I had mentioned in my earlier post, my bowling was pretty okay. I am not really that bad a fielder. And I did belt quite a few good shots with the bat during practice. But no one from the the "team" really took me seriously. There were a couple of selections that I could have debated ... but, well, I chose not to.
I am a programmer. Sports is not my cup of tea.
It's good to have a reputation of a "good" student, isn't it? I know it has helped me many times. Teachers are usually very helpful to me, my term work marks reflect that too. I am certainly not among the top rankers in our class, in fact, I really lag behind. Thankfully, I am at good terms with my teachers.
But the college sports taught me that this may not always be good. I was never really "into" sports, only this month was I taking cricket seriously (with me having lost around 10 kgs in the last few months, sports suddenly is now pleasure). As I had mentioned in my earlier post, my bowling was pretty okay. I am not really that bad a fielder. And I did belt quite a few good shots with the bat during practice. But no one from the the "team" really took me seriously. There were a couple of selections that I could have debated ... but, well, I chose not to.
I am a programmer. Sports is not my cup of tea.
January 17, 2005
Shane Warne, beware!
Oh! How my legs hurt!
For the first time in my life, I am being "seriously" considered for selection in a formal cricket team. I mean, I have never even made it to our colony's cricket team. And there I was today - bowling leg spin to some batsmen from our class. Seems I was good enough to be invited for the second stage of selection of the T.E. CMPN cricket team for our college sports. It's strange though - I never liked bowling.
But all this took it's toll on my body. It's been a long time since I spent some time on the cricket ground, and my legs are really paining. Hopefully I'll be fit enough to bowl tomorrow.
For the first time in my life, I am being "seriously" considered for selection in a formal cricket team. I mean, I have never even made it to our colony's cricket team. And there I was today - bowling leg spin to some batsmen from our class. Seems I was good enough to be invited for the second stage of selection of the T.E. CMPN cricket team for our college sports. It's strange though - I never liked bowling.
But all this took it's toll on my body. It's been a long time since I spent some time on the cricket ground, and my legs are really paining. Hopefully I'll be fit enough to bowl tomorrow.
January 15, 2005
Pascal's new PC : Part II
This is why I sometimes hesitate to recommend Linux to my friends.
Firstly, I know they wont really appreciate the principles on which the world of GNU/Linux is based. They don't give a damn to freedom, for them, the 'freedom' with which they can acquire Windoze is good enough.
Secondly, even though Linux is coming of age, it still leaves a lot to be desired in the area of hardware support. In Pascal's case, his sound card and DVD/CDRW combo drive are not being detected. I am sure we'll find a fix in a few days, but really, should hardware be a problem with a distro as recent as FC3? Most of the SOHO users are not adventurous enough to fix problems on their own. I am still a student, and can afford a few hours a day sometimes to fix problems with my PC. Not that I did not face problems when I used Windoze, but in those days I could call my dealer in times of desperation.
Of course, I am still a dedicated GNU/Linux fan. But I don't think I can be as enthusiastic a promoter of GNU/Linux as some are.
Firstly, I know they wont really appreciate the principles on which the world of GNU/Linux is based. They don't give a damn to freedom, for them, the 'freedom' with which they can acquire Windoze is good enough.
Secondly, even though Linux is coming of age, it still leaves a lot to be desired in the area of hardware support. In Pascal's case, his sound card and DVD/CDRW combo drive are not being detected. I am sure we'll find a fix in a few days, but really, should hardware be a problem with a distro as recent as FC3? Most of the SOHO users are not adventurous enough to fix problems on their own. I am still a student, and can afford a few hours a day sometimes to fix problems with my PC. Not that I did not face problems when I used Windoze, but in those days I could call my dealer in times of desperation.
Of course, I am still a dedicated GNU/Linux fan. But I don't think I can be as enthusiastic a promoter of GNU/Linux as some are.
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